kick over the traces

Idioms  

1. Break loose from restraint, misbehave. For example, There's always one child who'll kick over the traces as soon as the bell rings. This metaphoric expression alludes to the straps attaching a horse to a vehicle, which the animal sometimes gets a leg over in order to kick more freely and thereby refuse to move forward. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

That made voters kick over the traces again.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2022

But "Patrick" was only a persona, and there is a restlessness in Byrne that makes him kick over the traces.

From The Guardian • Aug. 17, 2011

This in turn means that the party in power must govern in coalition with other parties�which keep a jealous watch and often kick over the traces when they get restive.

From Time Magazine Archive

The horses that kick over the traces will have to be put in a corral.'

From Time Magazine Archive

However, even if the half-broken men and horses do kick over the traces once in a while, they eventually "get there," and that, after all, is the Canadian doctrine.

From From the St. Lawrence to the Yser with the 1st Canadian brigade by Curry, Frederic C.